I like how Thtb described it.
But as for playing a keep-away game, I don't know if Reptile can play this way for long without spending oodles of meter. And even then you won't be keeping the other person out forever. I feel like Reptile's zoning revolves around getting good trades, using slowballs to get in for your own offense, and using the threat of random elbow dash to your advantage.

And I think I've finally seen the light...Reptile-Cage is 4-6. There's just no keeping this guy out forever.

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I like how Thtb described it.
But as for playing a keep-away game, I don't know if Reptile can play this way for long without spending oodles of meter. And even then you won't be keeping the other person out forever. I feel like Reptile's zoning revolves around getting good trades, using slowballs to get in for your own offense, and using the threat of random elbow dash to your advantage.

And I think I've finally seen the light...Reptile-Cage is 4-6. There's just no keeping this guy out forever.

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Exactly with Cage. I've been saying this for like, what, a year now? You won't keep him out, at all. People still think this. It's ridiculous. Until you play a really good Cage offline, you really won't understand this. I think it could still be 5-5, but I'm likely wrong on that.

Reptile doesn't throw projectiles to keep you out. It's to counter-zone and initiate offensive momentum. He's an offensive character whose offense starts from ANYWHERE on the screen, and if your character can't handle this or doesn't beat him inside, then you likely have a losing matchup vs him. His footsies are also very solid, and the threat of dash alone freezes opponents up enough to get some time to get where you want to be.

I'm no pro, but I've always used Reptile's zoning for meter. Since they can't duck it, and jumping is risky, they're usually forced to block it. Which gives you pretty much double the meter. It also has chip, so they can't sit there and eat it all day like you could with Sub-Zero, or Smoke.

Everything else has already been said, don't fall into a pattern is a big one. If your opponent picks up on it, you're probably about to eat a punish.

reptiles zoning is really just a tool for him to get upclose, because thats what reptile wants, he wants to get upclose to start his shenanigans and footsies, he's not ment to stay full screen. His pressure works best by ending with acid hand or cancelling into invis. Also u can stop his pressure short in anticipation of a response from ur opponent and u can punish with dash.

reptile vs JC is 5-5. Sure johnny will get in eventually, but thats all he has. Reptile has advantage from every other part of the screen. not only that but the dash and ex slide make it very possible to get out of JC pressure easily on good reads. Reptiles footsies are also better then cage since his normals help out with spacing immensely

reptile vs JC is 5-5. Sure johnny will get in eventually, but thats all he has. Reptile has advantage from every other part of the screen. not only that but the dash and ex slide make it very possible to get out of JC pressure easily on good reads. Reptiles footsies are also better then cage since his normals help out with spacing immensely

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I don't want to derail the thread too far with matchup stuff, but I'll give a few of the reasons why I see this as a slightly difficult match.

Reptile can't keep Cage out forever, and you probably won't take much damage from fullscreen unless the Cage player likes to jump.

Dash and ex slide are both risky options for getting out of Cage's pressure...I'm not saying they can't be used, but they're not get out of jail free cards. If he reads either of them, boom, full combo gonna get Caged. On top of that, you have to guess the right time to interrupt his strings. For example if you want to use ex slide after Cage's 11f1...sike he'll only use 11 into more pressure, you'll be stuck blocking and have to make a new read to interrupt another string.
Reptile's pokes are definitely the biggest problem here imo. Your best option is his 8 frame d3...this means you basically have a 1 frame opportunity to poke out of continuous f3 pressure.

Reptile also doesn't out-footsie Cage...Many of Reptile's block strings have bad recovery on whiff such as f3, f2, b1, etc. Whiffing anything like this will let Cage get back in with a blockstring.

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I picked up this game a few months ago and have gotten really into it, going to local tournaments and such. I play a couple characters but Reptile was my original main and I've decided to revisit him. I feel like my zoning game could use some work though. Any tips/tricks?

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Knowing the fundamentals of zoning will make your zoning game solid with any character. Zoning is keeping your opponent where you want them NOT just throwing out projectiles.

Knowing all the properties of Reptile's tools/zoning tools will help you out. For example, Acid Spit can be ducked/jumped/blocked, so it's not really a good tool to use in close ranges. Also, Force Balls cannot be ducked they can only be jumped/blocked. If your opponent jumps, you have positional advantage because you have more options on the ground.

I don't want to derail the thread too far with matchup stuff, but I'll give a few of the reasons why I see this as a slightly difficult match.

Reptile can't keep Cage out forever, and you probably won't take much damage from fullscreen unless the Cage player likes to jump.

Dash and ex slide are both risky options for getting out of Cage's pressure...I'm not saying they can't be used, but they're not get out of jail free cards. If he reads either of them, boom, full combo gonna get Caged. On top of that, you have to guess the right time to interrupt his strings. For example if you want to use ex slide after Cage's 11f1...sike he'll only use 11 into more pressure, you'll be stuck blocking and have to make a new read to interrupt another string.
Reptile's pokes are definitely the biggest problem here imo. Your best option is his 8 frame d3...this means you basically have a 1 frame opportunity to poke out of continuous f3 pressure.

Reptile also doesn't out-footsie Cage...Many of Reptile's block strings have bad recovery on whiff such as f3, f2, b1, etc. Whiffing anything like this will let Cage get back in with a blockstring.

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